A Promise She Cannot Yet Understand
A new grandfather holds his baby granddaughter in his arms.
He looks at her and tells her how much he loves her. He promises he will always
be there for her.
He means every word.
The baby has no idea what he is saying. She cannot grasp the
depth of his love or the weight of his promises. She does not know what it means
for someone to always be there. She simply rests in his arms, unaware of the
fierce devotion surrounding her tiny life.
My friend sees this and says, “This is so much like us with
God.”
She is right.
Words We Barely Comprehend
Our Heavenly Father speaks love over us. He makes promises
that stretch beyond time. Yet we often understand so little of what He is
saying.
Zephaniah gives us this picture:
“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty
savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm
all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” (Zephaniah 3:17)
Pause there.
He delights in you.
He calms your fears.
He rejoices over you with singing.
These are not distant words. They are deeply personal.
God is not only Creator, though He formed you with
intention. He is Father. Scripture says, “See what great love the Father has
lavished on us, that we should be called children of God” (1 John 3:1).
Children. That is who we are.
Love Made Visible
When Jesus entered our world, God stepped into flesh and
blood. He revealed the Father’s heart. Through His life, death, and
resurrection, Christ secured our redemption.
God’s love is not abstract. It is embodied. It is
demonstrated.
As a grandfather speaks tenderly to his grandchild, so God
speaks to us.
Learning Love Over Time
My granddaughter, Zipporah, is just sixteen days old. Sweet
sixteen.
When I hold her, I tell her I love her. I promise to protect
her and to provide for her as I am able. I want her to know that her Poppy
loves her more than she can imagine.
She does not understand my words.
So I show her.
I comfort her. I respond when she cries. I support her
parents in practical ways. One day she will begin to understand what has always
been true. She is deeply loved.
This is how our Father deals with us.
Often we are like infants in His arms. We hear about His
faithfulness, His presence, His provision. Yet life presses in. We struggle. We
doubt. We ask where He is.
Still, He shows up.
He meets us in quiet ways. He provides in ways we do not
always recognize at first. He speaks through Scripture, through others, through
unexpected peace. Over time, we begin to perceive what has always been there.
His steadfast love.
Paul prayed this for Believers:
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and
long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that
surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness
of God.” (Ephesians 3:17–19)
To grasp a love that surpasses knowledge.
There is mystery there. Depth beyond comprehension. Yet it
is love meant to be known.
When We Feel Forgotten
There are seasons when we feel abandoned. Prayers seem to
echo back unanswered. We wonder if God has stepped away.
Scripture anchors us:
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither
angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38–39)
Nothing can separate you from His love.
Not your past.
Not your present confusion.
Not your fear of the future.
Through Isaiah, God speaks with fatherly tenderness:
“I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried
you before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime, until
your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry
you along and save you.” (Isaiah 46:3–4)
He carries you.
From the beginning, God instructed the priests to bless His
people with these words:
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24–26)
This is not a distant God. This is a Father whose face
shines as He lifts His child. This is His posture toward you.
Held, Even Now
So be encouraged.
When life grows loud, return to these truths. Hide them in
your heart. Ask the Spirit to remind you who you are. “The Spirit himself
testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:16).
You may not yet grasp the magnitude of His promises. You may
not fully understand the depth of His love.
But you are held.
And He is not going anywhere.
Let me leave you with this blessing:
“Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling
away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a
single fault. All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus
Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all
time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.” (Jude 24-25)
